Arthur's Point of View

Capital of Vithari - Dwardew

“I practically ripped you in two, and you’re already moving again.” He then chuckled. “You didn’t even groan in pain when I did it. Either you’re far sturdier than I thought or far tougher than I presumed. Regardless of which it is, I have no doubt you’d stand a far more interesting foe than most others I’ve faced.” He eyed my sword as my energy flared out as I prepared to transform. “Very interesting indeed.”

“You remind me more of Thana than anything else. You’re not the first High Elf I’ve run into, and you won’t be the last. It makes no difference to me if one or two die here and there.”

“High Elf?” He repeated. “Oh! Right!” The cloaked figure said after a moment. “That’s what they call themselves in this day and age. I suppose that makes sense. Not like they would know what they are anyway.”

To my surprise, he floated away from me with a flap of his wings. “And where are you going?”

Another teleportation went off as the Wraith appeared where the High Elf was. “This thing is stealing my magic the longer our fight goes on, and I’ve already killed it a few times.” He then gestured to me. “Although, I suppose the same could be said of you.” Giving me a shrug, he continued. “This isn’t fun anymore. No sense in continuing a fight that is, in the end, pointless.” His hands ignited in their whitish pink aura.

All three of us were distanced from each other to a certain degree, but their abilities to pop in and out of places were annoying. The Wraith seemed to realize there was a stalemate. Although, I was still unsure of how intelligent it actually was. It certainly seemed to notice the High Elf before me, though I have no idea what triggered it.

Twirling my sword in my hand as my gaze shifted from the Wraith back to the cloaked man, I spoke. “Do you really think I’d let you leave?”

“Don’t worry, Mordred,” He said in a knowing tone, and my eyes widened at that. “Our paths will cross again.” Not wanting to let this chance escape, my transformation began as my sword power traveled down my right arm. “That is something we will address later.” His grin at my arm told me he wanted to stay and fight.

My transformation stopped when magic lashed out horizontally. Not just at me and the Wraith, but in a full circle that shot in every direction. Like a wave, it slammed into the cavern’s foundation after the Wraith, and I avoided the blow. The entirety of the cavern was collapsing towards the city below. With gritted teeth, I heard the cloaked figure laughing as he flew away, and the Wraith gave chase.

“Fuck!” I cried in frustration as the ceiling started to fall.

Putting my sword on my back as the screams below grew in volume, my gritted teeth so hard it felt like they would crack as I summoned the largest Gravity Pillar I ever had. My eyes felt like they were on fire as it completely covered the entire city below. As the cavern crumbled, as soon as the parts of the collapse hit my pillar, they were blown into the sky and destroyed.

Soon, the cavern wasn’t a cavern anymore. Bringing my palms to my eyes as I pressed against them to alleviate the pain, I heard the flapping of wings next to me. Groaning in annoyance, my arms pulled away, where I saw Kheri looking at me with wide eyes. The pain in my eyes subsided after another moment, and I realized she was looking at my arm.

“Arthur-“ She began, but I cut her off.

Shaking my arm, it immediately returned to normal. Well, the normal one that everyone else saw it as. The Zugal General seemed surprised at that and went silent. Our eyes met, and I waited to see what her reaction would be. She seemed unsure of everything at this moment, so I decided it would be best to ignore the situation entirely and float down to Elincia.

Landing by the baths, which were destroyed by the collapsing of the walls, Elincia was leaned up against a nearby rock. Typhon was with her, and both didn’t appear to be in the best shape. A bruise had formed on the back of Elincia’s neck while Typhon’s arms were swollen. My eyes glanced at the water trickling throughout the area from the rocks that had filled the baths in the water’s stead.

“Is it over?” Elincia asked me in a pained voice as Kheri landed next to me.

Kneeling down next to them as Typhon tried his best to comfort Elincia, I spoke. “We’ve barely been here a day, Elincia. I’m afraid that this is just the beginning of our troubles here.”